Brooke and Lucas: Always You
by amber24-03
Summary: A plan to woo Brooke's best friend backfires when Lucas is faced with a stressing dilemma. Short Story


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Disclaimer: I don't own them. Plain and Simple. If I did, Luke would be mine! HeHe.

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Rating: Hmm. PG. Possibly PG-13

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Feedback: Please! I CRAVE it.

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Summary: A plan to woo Brooke's best friend backfires when Lucas is faced with a stressing dilemma.

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Always You

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Envy.

The crowd surged as he scored and her eyes never left him, all the while thinking only of how much he cared for her best friend. She feigned her typical excitement as she cheered, her gaze remaining locked on Lucas. A part of her resented Peyton. She was the only one Lucas ever looked at, the only one he ever wanted to be with.

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Anger.

Her eyes narrowed as she thought about the night he came to her, frustrated that Peyton hadn't given him the time of day. Boldly, he asked for her help, but what could she have possibly done to help things? She regretted asking that question. It infuriated her to hear his answer.

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Pain.

His eyes locked on her hurt gaze from across the room. Almost a month ago, he had proposed a plan. Brooke looked over at Peyton. A plan to woo her best friend. 

It had been a month since she agreed; unaware of the torture she was going to be putting herself through. Brooke thought she could handle it. She liked Lucas, but she wanted him to be happy. He'd be happy with Peyton. And in a standard Brooke manner, she loved the idea of them spending so much time together.

But that time she longed for didn't turn out like she had expected. In fact, it was nothing like she had expected. All he had to say was about Peyton. All he wanted to talk about was her. 

Brooke didn't stay to congratulate the team as the buzzer sounded. She quickly said her good-byes and practically ran to her car. She needed to talk to Lucas, but she wanted to gather her thoughts before doing so. If she had stayed, Lucas would have found her. She wouldn't have been confident enough to say what she knew needed to be said.

When Brooke was ready to talk, she found Luca where she thought he'd be -- the basketball court. Surprisingly, he wasn't surrounded by his mask of friends. Brooke smiled about this. She could have blamed it on destiny. Maybe they were destined to reveal things tonight. What else would explain the ironic coincidence?

"Luke," Brooke called as she parked her white Beetle and stepped out of her car. "I thought I could find you here." her normal flirty tone traveled the distance between them. She raised an eyebrow coyly as her tongue traced her lips, moistening them.

"I'm glad you found me." Lucas smiled. "I really want to talk to you too." he paused, rolling the basketball toward the picnic table as he met her at the edge of the court. "About Peyton. We really need to clean up our act a little, Brooke. You weren't even there after the game. I thought we were supposed to leave together."

Brooke nodded, her smile falling, frustrating building inside of her. Once. She just wanted to talk with Lucas once without Peyton being mentioned. He couldn't see how much he was hurting her only because she masked the pain. But the pain was real. Though he didn't see it, she still felt it. "Can we hold off on talking about Peyton for a bit, Luke? There is actually something I want to say to you first." she started for the picnic table and took a seat.

Lucas followed after her, sitting on the table itself, hovering over her. "Is something wrong, Brooke?"

She turned in her seat to look up at him, her confidence dwindling. She was both, hesitant and nervous to answer his question. She wasn't so sure he was actually ready to hear what she had to say to him, not while he was still so hung up on her best friend. "No, nothing's wrong." she forced her infamous smile, choosing not to open up to him just yet. "So tell me. How are things with you and Peyton?"

"Not as perfect as I'd like. But they will be. I'm confident. She's definitely affected."

Brooke was quick to stand when the sting of tears sparkled in her eyes. She couldn't let Lucas see her cry. It would have been obvious then. She began to walk slowly back to her car, leaving a confused Lucas behind. But what would be so bad about him knowing? She stopped. She had come here to tell him. Brooke turned back to Lucas, her tears now rolling freely down her cheeks. "Luke, I can't do this anymore. I can't help you with Peyton."

"What?" a confused Luca approached her cautiously. "Why not, Brooke? It was going to so well. I can't do this without you, you know that. I need you beside me in this. That is the only way she'll notice me."

"Lucas, look at me." she screamed, clinching her fists in anger, wiping her tears away. "I can't do this because it hurts me. I can't stand it. I hate watching you look at her like you do, pining away after her when she doesn't even notice you until you are _dating me_. Don't you see something wrong with that? It takes me to get you closer to her."

Lucas stood silent, unable to speak. Brooke saw his hesitation to speak and decided to continue on. "Luke," she lowered the volume of her voice. "Luke, don't you see? You could have had me all along." more tears tumbled down. "You could have had me so much easier than Peyton. I wouldn't have asked for you to go through what you did for her. I wouldn't have needed that to want to be with you."

He reached up and brushed the tears out of her eyes. "Brooke, I .." he trailed off. "I'm sorry."

Brooke narrowed her eyes, her tears glistening within them. She opened her mouth to speak but shut it quickly, realizing that she had said her peace. She hadn't expected to make Lucas realize his feelings for her through her confession so she wasn't shocked to see that he didn't. She kissed his cheek softly before leaving him once more, successfully making it to her car this time.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Her eyes scanned the hall as she walked, mentally preparing to head the other way at the sight of Lucas. Brooke had succeeded in avoiding him all day, but she was certain, as the day was winding down, that they were destined to run into each other. She hated the awkwardness she felt toward him now. Granted, telling him made her feel a lot better. But now he knew. Just that thought made it hard to look him in the face.

She watched him as he walked toward her direction, fighting the urge to flee. As her thoughts continued to captivate her mind, Brooke began to wonder why she was even avoiding him in the first place. She didn't necessarily have to talk to him, but not seeing him all day would have been a little too obvious. Instead, she chose to show him that she wasn't affected; that, though, she liked him, she could survive without him. Brooke pushed her shoulders back, merely glancing at Lucas, as she passed him by.

Lucas' eyes trailed her as she passed, his thoughts bringing him back to the night before. Part of him was still confused by her words. The other part knew what she had meant by them, but wanted so badly to ignore them. He was so close to getting Peyton now. Lucas didn't want anything complicating that.

But things were already complicated. Brooke had seen to that last night. 

Lucas debated the thoughts that were flooding his mind. Why was he so affected by Brooke's admittance? He wanted Peyton, right? _Yes._ He tried to convince himself, but if that were so, he wouldn't be thinking about Brooke right now. He wouldn't be wondering if he had hurt her last night by his lack of a response. He wouldn't have wanted to reassure her that things were going to be okay. He wouldn't have wanted to protect her from getting hurt further.

His thoughts drifted to Peyton. He admired her from afar for so long, always dreaming of what it would be like to kiss her. But she had never given him so much as a glance. Brooke was right. It wasn't until his brilliant scheme that she even began to notice him. Did he really want to be with Peyton that way?

Brooke wasn't like that, though. She wanted to be with him and it didn't take another woman to make that happen. She merely helped him because she knew it was what he wanted; that it'd make him happy. She was genuine in her feelings for him and he deserved that, didn't he? He deserved a girl that wanted him openly, without a plot to make that so. Maybe Brooke was just what he needed after all.

Luca pushed his dilemma to the back of his mind and continued on his walk toward the men's locker room. He'd figure this out later. Lucas checked his watch. Now, he was late. He sped his walk into a slow jog. Whitey was going to flip. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He hadn't expected to find her here. In fact, this was the last place he thought she'd be. Lucas smiled as he watched her. She dribbled the orange ball in her hands, concentrating hard as she did so. Basketball wasn't her sport. That became obvious as the ball got away from her over and over again. But he wasn't going to tell her that. He kind of enjoyed watching her try something that he was so passionate about. 

Lucas approached Brooke, his smile still pursing his lips. "I've been looking everywhere for you." Brooke looked up, taken aback by his presence. She wasn't aware anyone was there; that anyone was watching her. If she had known, Brooke would have been more careful about embarrassing herself.

"Well, you found me." her voice was dry. He could tell that just being there was hurting her. It was a constant reminder of what she didn't have but wanted. It was something he often felt when he was around Peyton. "Now what?" she stopped dribbling the ball and approached him.

"Can we talk?"

Brooke smiled seductively, forcing herself to act _normal._ This was the only Brooke anyone knew. This was the only Brooke that everyone noticed. She pressed her body against him, her arms snaking around his neck. "Yeah, we can talk, Luke. But I have a better idea."

Lucas gently pushed her away and walked passed her, the basketball in his hands. He swished a shot before turning back to her. "I'm serious, Brooke. We need to talk."

She was angry as her arms flew to cross her chest. "Talk about what? Tuesday night? How I completely made a fool of myself. I opened myself up to you, Luke. I should have known you could never like someone like me."

"Someone like you?" his eyebrows raised in question. Brooke ducked her head, avoiding his gaze at all costs. Lucas approached her, lifting her chin with his fingers so that she was looking at him. Her eyes softened when she met his gaze.

"You didn't think I could like someone sweet, caring, sensitive? I know you, Brooke. You are so much different than what the world thinks. You are so much better than the girl you perceive yourself to be. You don't think I can like that type of girl?"

She shook her head free of his grasp. "I'm not Peyton."

"I never asked you to be her."

She looked at him in confusion, her eyebrows furrowing. "What are you talking about, Lucas?"

Instead of responding, Lucas kissed her gently. "What about Peyton?" Brooke asked as they pulled apart.

Lucas shrugged, his eyes still focused on the girl in front of him. Normally, just hearing her name would have made him think about her all day. That wasn't the case anymore. Lucas didn't need Peyton to occupy his every waking thought because now he had Brooke. "What about her?" his voice showed no ounce of uncertainty.

"She's my best friend, Luke. I can't do this to her."

"She doesn't want me for me, Brooke. You said that yourself. She doesn't appreciate me for me. She's no like you. She likes the competition. She never paid any attention until after our plan. She tries so hard to be the opposite of the typical imagine of a cheerleader. She tries to be harder than that. But she's not. The truth is she wanted me because you had me. I don't want to be with her like that."

"But you still want to be with her?" Brooked asked knowing. She was about to walk away from him when Lucas stopped her.

Lucas smiled and shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I don't want to be with her at all."

Brooke smiled and threw her arms around his neck once more. Lucas laughed. It felt wrong to be so happy, but she was. Did that make her a bad person? She frowned. "Luke?" her eyes met his. "I don't want to hurt Peyton."

"Why would we hurt her, Brooke? She already thinks that we are dating." his hands trailed up her arms, removing them from his neck. Slowly, he took both of her hands in his and pressed them against his chest, drawing her body close to his. "It's not like the world doesn't already believe this charade we had going. Why can't we make it real?"

"Is that what you really want, Lucas? To make this real?"

"That's what I really want, Brooke. I want us. It was dumb of me to look passed you like I did. I wanted so badly to be the perfect person for Peyton when she was never perfect for me." Lucas shrugged. "But you are, Brooke. It was always you."

Brooke beamed and stood on her toes. Her mouth lingered inches from his at the intake of a breath. She licked her lips before speaking. "Right answer." they laughed before turning serious again. Brooke looked deep into his eyes as he stared back at her, their lips only centimeters apart now, growing closer with each passing second. As their lips connected, they both stiffened at the spark that ran through their bodies before relaxing, giving into the feeling that overcame them. Brooke smiled against his lips as they parted. "I'll play ya!"

Lucas laughed as she chased after the ball. "Do you really want to do that?" he asked when she had retrieved it. "Don't you know who I am?" Brooke raised her eyebrow in question as she closed the distance between him. "I'm Luca Scott, basketball extraordinaire." he snatched the ball from her. "And you, Brooke Davis," he kissed her again. "Are going down!"

… The End …


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